


Voices on the Wind

by Yrindor



Series: Sports Anime Shipping Olympics 2016 Fills [5]
Category: Prince of Stride: Alternative (Anime), 弱虫ペダル | Yowamushi Pedal
Genre: Crossover, Getting Together, M/M, Manami Sangaku's Wings, Prompt Fill, SASO 2016, Warm and Fuzzy Feelings
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-06-02
Updated: 2016-06-02
Packaged: 2018-07-11 17:07:14
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 631
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7061845
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Yrindor/pseuds/Yrindor
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Every day, when he went out running, Kyousuke swore he saw an angel up at the top of the mountain.  And every day, he whispered into the wind, "Who are you?"  He never expected he'd get a response.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Voices on the Wind

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Miyukitty](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Miyukitty/gifts).



> Written for SASO 2016 Bonus Round 1 for the prompt "Remember when the wind spoke to them? Remember how they looked at each other when they realized they weren't alone?"

Every day as he went out for his run, Kyousuke swore he saw an angel on the mountain. It was always subtle, always just out of the corner of his eye, but as he ran through the trails winding up the slopes, he swore he saw the flash of wings off in the distance.

It wasn't until one day, when he started late due to an unexpected call from his parents, that he finally saw the owner of said wings. It was sheer coincidence. He had been running up the trail like usual, and just as he burst through the trees into a clear overlook, he saw a cyclist up at the peak. And as he watched, the wind whipped through the trees, and wings sprouted from the cyclist's back.

He couldn't hear anything from where he was, but he could imagine the pure, clear laughter that probably accompanied them. In that moment, he knew he had met a kindred spirit. Someone else who spoke to the wind, and who listened as it answered.

After that, he intentionally left later in the morning, timing his runs so that he always made it to the overlook just as the cyclist came around the curve. Sometimes the wind was silent, or blowing in the wrong direction, and he didn't get to see the cyclist's wings, but most days, the wind was kind, and he found himself asking "Who are you?", his voice swept away by the wind as it gusted up the mountain.

It wasn't until late summer that he finally received his answer. He was out on his normal run, already looking up towards the peak as he broke through the treeline, and he nearly ran into the cyclist standing in middle of the trail.

"Who are you?" Kyousuke asked, and the cyclist laughed, the sound the exact, joyous tone Kyouske had imagined.

"Manami Sangaku, to finally answer your question. Though sometimes people call me the Angel of Hakone," he said. He must have seen Kyousuke's confused look, because he quickly added, "The wind's carried your question to me all summer."

"It speaks to you?"

Manami nodded. "It speaks to you too; I can feel it," he said, reaching out towards Kyousuke.

"Kuga Kyousuke, Stride runner," Kyousuke said, taking Manami's hand in his own, not a handshake but something more intimate, a mutual affirmation of kindred spirits. The wind whipped around them as their eyes met, and somehow, in that moment, they knew they had found another who understood them as no one before had.

"Let's race," Manami said when the wind finally died back down.

"What?"

"You're a runner, right? I see you out running every day. So we'll race back down to the foot of the mountain; the road is longer than the trail, but a bike is faster. We'll see who makes it to the bottom first."

"On your mark," Kyousuke said, already slipping into the tight focus of a race.

"Go!" Manami shouted, swinging his leg over his saddle and taking off down the road, Kyousuke sprinting back down the trail only a fraction of a second later.

As his feet pounded into the dirt, Kyousuke felt a lightheartedness he hadn't felt since his last race together with Tomoe, and he couldn't help but laugh with joy. It shouldn't have been possible, but he would have sworn he heard Manami laughing in response.

Even as their legs burned and their breath grew strained, their spirits flew at finally having met another who understood them, and the wind carried the sound of their laughter back and forth as it danced between them until, finally, they met once more and collapsed exhausted into one another's arms, content simply to lie there and know that they would never be alone again.

**Author's Note:**

> As always, comments and feedback are welcome and appreciated.


End file.
